Fjord
We now live in the touchscreen paradigm. These interactive glowing rectangles are infiltrating our lives: from our desks to our wrists to our living rooms.
As the father of two young boys in this touchscreen era, I’ve noticed the magnetism with which these screens attract children. This is Generation Moth: a whole new generation that is growing up with screens—screens which always hold the promise of interactivity and something more engaging than the rest of the environment that they inhabit.
Despite the live magic show, all of the kids (including my son) flocked around the smartphone, like moths to a light.
My one-year old is obsessed with my Adidas miCoach Smart Run watch, climbing on me so that he can tap and swipe at the 1-inch screen. His six-year old brother has already spent years interacting with touchscreen interfaces. Recently, at a classmate’s birthday party, one child had his own smartphone to play games on. Despite the live magic show, all of the kids (including my son) flocked around the smartphone, like moths to a light.
Olof Schybergson
Olof Schybergson is the CEO and co-founder of service design consultancy, Fjord (part of Accenture Interactive). He is passionate about elegant simplicity and its power to solve challenges, big or small.
It wasn’t that long ago that the primary digital device was a desktop computer, but now, digital technology is hiding in plain sight, in objects from thermostats and espresso machines to watches and glasses. We move between and interact with them consciously and unconsciously, feeding them inputs and information far beyond point-and-click: gestural, biometric, audio, haptic, location, etc. All of this will be commonplace for Generation Moth.
As the touchscreen itself increasingly merges with its environment, and embedded technology goes mainstream, this raises questions around design for the next generation of digital experiences and services. Designing for Generation Moth is going to require very different skillsets and ways of thinking beyond what we do now. So, how will designers and the companies that they work for maintain relevance to meet the expectations of this up-and-coming generation?
Relationships Will Be in 4-D
Technology will build thriving interpersonal relationships for Generation Moth, who will share more experiences together without ever having to physically be in the same place.
Ross, the 10-year old son of my colleague in New York, spends lots of time hanging out with his best friend, alone and with others. However, this friend actually lives in London—he visits Ross at home via Skype. Ross and his Skype buddy met once briefly in real life, during a tourist trip to London, but it was through Skype that they grew close. For Generation Moth, digitally mediated presence will feel completely natural.
Fjord
This sharing will go well beyond videos and emojis and, as the acquisition of Oculus Rift by Facebook indicates, could move into the sharing of physical and immersive experiences: Generation Moth may be able to share a warm embrace; the view, sounds, breeze, and smells of the beach; even a memory or thought. These rich, shared experiences, can all be had without ever having met someone in-person. Through wearable devices on our bodies, connected to our brains, and in our clothing, as well as immersive and connected environments, Generation Moth could have thriving relationships with people where other generations would never have had a chance to connect.
For Generation Moth, digitally mediated presence will feel completely natural.
However, the experiences that Generation Moth have in their daily lives will also have to provide the stimulation and interactivity that they experience socially. These expectations will impact a variety of industries, and there will be more appetite for experiencing virtually: online shoppers can try-on and sample products; travel planning could involve testing out a hotel bed or feeling what the weather there is like; a checkup with a physician may not require a visit.
Work Will Have to Be Fun
This expectation of stimulation and interactivity will also extend into the workplace. Generation Moth will have grown up learning through games and customized education programs personalized to them. Corporate structure, inflexible workplaces, and monotonous tasks that don’t allow them to multitask, bring an element of fun, or provide a game-like mechanic will not inspire them to perform.
Fjord
They will be fluent in experimenting their way through situations and in learning-by-doing over reading training modules or following directions. Growing up in an interactive world of instant gratification, attention spans and patience will continue to get shorter. Workplaces that do not inspire an element of creativity and keep them stimulated will be shunned or can expect poor employee performance.
In addition, being connected all the time will further blur the lines between work and life, particularly as communication through technology will be a standard to Generation Moth. The 9-to-5 mindset and even the concept of an office will fade away.
Services Will Run Their Lives
Generation Moth may be digitally literate, but their grasp of the analog world will be quite different: grocery shopping, driving a car, mapping a route, and planning an itinerary may be things they have never done before. Services such as Amazon’s anticipatory shipping and Google Now are the beginning of a future in which data and artificial intelligence are making decisions for us and completing our basic tasks. For Generation Moth, there will be implicit trust in the services they use to do the work of managing their analog lives; but one breach of this trust will prove a major inconvenience and they may instantly switch to a competing service.
Generation Moth will be fluent and fearless in a digitally mediated existence, where most of their analog needs are met with the help of digital services.
This new way of living will require several businesses to overhaul their operations to meet these heightened demands around personalization and anticipation. There will be services that plug all of their data around their schedules, location, and preferences. Their homes will be connected to know when they’re out of groceries, if a light bulb needs to be changed, when to turn off the air conditioning. Their cars will automatically route and drive them to their next appointment and the show they were watching will pick up where it left off from the TV during the ride.
Fjord
Generation Moth will be fluent and fearless in a digitally mediated existence, where most of their analog needs are met with the help of digital services. They will use their bodies and all their senses as instruments for interaction, in a way that’s infinitely more varied and sophisticated than the touch screen paradigm we’re living in right now.
As Generation Moth becomes influential across commerce and society, we will need to completely reimagine and reinvent the relationships that brands have with people. People-centered design will be a baseline, and the design of services that consider personalization, fluidity, predictiveness, and expressiveness will be key to success. This screen-addicted generation is going to massively change the way people live and attitudes towards the world, for generations to come.
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